6 practical ways to monetize when learning web development

A lot of times, when you’ve learnt a new skill, such as programming or web development, most people would tend to want to do something with it. With that said, one of the ways to fully utilize your skillset is to monetize what you’re good at.

Let’s discuss how you can do so monetizing or make money with your web development skill:

#1 Freelancing

Freelancing is a way to make money with web development and there are tons of businesses, entrepreneurs, and companies that needs talents like freelancers to help them with web development projects and applications.

Freelancing is no doubt a great lifestyle where you have the freedom to manage your own time and gives you room to sharpen your skills.

You’ll be able to stay ahead of the industry as you’ll notice what sort of projects the industry is looking for and the skillset needed.

Besides looking for local existing gigs or projects, there are several websites like upwork.com or freelancers.com that you can look for international clients.

But how do you know what to charge? per hour or per project basis? We usually suggest if it’s a smaller project and you know that the scope is fixed, without too many changes or hassle, then that’s the time to go for project basis.

For those projects you’re unsure about the boundaries or the exact job scope, it’s better to charge by per hour basis because there might be unforeseen hidden cost you may incur.

On the flip side, if you’re looking to hire freelancers for a small project or to fix something on your website or application, these sites will allow you to access to global talents.

There are also dangers of freelancing, it enables you to have plenty of freedom, however, it also comes with essential skills of time management and managing the client’s expectations.

Be
upfront about what you’re going to charge your clients as it cost you time and
also there won’t be any surprise elements for them.

#2 Work For A Company

Majority of the companies in Malaysia are SMEs and they usually don’t need to hire a full tech team, but from time to time they do need help in web development. These tasks might be from website upgrades, tech refresh, creating websites, tech setups, etc.

These are the projects that might take up to 3 – 6 months where you work for a company and learn about the nitty-gritty processes and structures that you need.

It
also helps to join a technology-driven company if you’re a junior developer or
just starting out, as you’ll learn how things work and different systems and
tools that the industry use.

For
example, GIT is a version control software, and if you’re not from a team environment,
you usually don’t use that sort of tool. You’ll be only able to learn if you
work in a relatively large team environment.

If you’re looking to work in an SME tech company, you can start with attending networking or industry events where there will be companies on a lookout to hire tech talents.

Another option which is not too common, where you go for an entrepreneur’s networking event where founders are looking for technical cofounders. Basically, get out there and not just stay behind your screen.

#3 Build and sell plugins or themes

If
you’re someone who is more introverted and dislikes networking events, perhaps considering
to sell your plugins, themes, or codes you’ve created in marketplaces.

Some
examples are CodeCanyon, Themeforest, Envato, and most of the sites are that
are selling these scripts are written in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and also PHP,
some of the mainstream programming languages.

The
beauty of a plugin or theme is something you can sell it over and over again
and without geographical boundaries, in which you can earn passively.

And selling plugins or theme is not the only way, you can also sell Google Chrome extensions. Many people download extensions to help them with a certain task, like a password manager, to-do lists, etc.

Applications where users are offered a free version or trial and an option to upgrade, in short, ‘in-app’ purchases or freemium model.

Chrome extension is usually written with JavaScript, and JavaScript is also included in Full Stack 360, a complete full stack development certification.

The key here is to look for a problem that a lot of website owners are facing and build an application or solution for that and putting it out to the market.

You’re selling the convenience for people to alleviate their pain points essentially.

#4 Joining coding contests or hackathons

Entering
coding contest or hackathons is a good way of sustaining yourself when you’re
learning how to code, but it can’t be your full-time job to make a living.

There are some people who use this platform to make money on the side, but more importantly meeting likeminded individuals that can complement your skillset and delivering a project within an intensive period, as you’ll need present it towards the end.

Hackathons will also force you to complete a project and validation an idea with the competitiveness surrounding you.

Probably most of the time you’ll find yourself having multiple half-baked projects lying in your hard disk, with hackathon you won’t.

#5 Create an application

If
you’re a web developer, you’ll be able to build web applications. When we talk
about applications, we have web application, desktop application, and mobile
applications.

If
you’re able recall the early days of smartphones, mobile applications whether
its on Android or IOS, people create all sort of apps that you can think of and
make money from it.

Your
idea doesn’t have to be the greatest, but a simple yet useful app that serves a
specific niche in which solve a problem and does a single task very well.

And
to highlight that mobile application is using the same architecture as web
application.

#6 Build a content website

When you’ve web development skills, you basically have a world of possibilities. There are many websites in the world that are monetizing from the website content itself.

And this kind of websites sometimes is done by the people who do not even do development work. One of the ways to monetize a website is to put in content to a website and include advertising.

Another common way is through memberships. Selling subscription or membership allows you to serve a specific audience who are searching for specific information. Some examples topics like ‘how to train your pet’, or even more specific like ‘how to train your pet iguana’.

Besides, you can monetize your website with affiliations. For example, you’ve created a content website, then head over to established sites such as Lazada or Amazon, they do have a dedicated area for an affiliate.

You just need to link up your website to their affiliate program and start earning passively when someone buys anything with your affiliate link.

Enjoyed watching the above? do share with us your thoughts in the comment section below.

If you are looking to explore web development and programming as part of your career growth and build market-ready applications like Grab or Lazada, do check out our Full Stack 360 certification course to help you achieve this goal.

What are your favourite programming languages for web development? Leave them in the comment section below.